OMGfood 3-Year Anniversary Week + Giveaway!

It’s been three years, friends! Can you friggen believe it? I mean, can you even?

I know, right?

On February 20th, 2014, I clicked that giant “LAUNCH” button and I suddenly had a blog out in the world. Two recipes were posted and they were full of annoying ramblings (probably) and awful photography (definitely).

The blog was OMGFOOD and an awesome friend of mine made this logo for me:

At the time, I was living a paleo-ish lifestyle and decided I would share mostly paleo/gluten-free recipes and occasionally include foods outside of those realms. I was maybe 70/30 on the paleo thing and had been for over a year. I figured that lifestyle would stick and blogging about it would too.

Then I remembered I really love bread and cheese and bourbon and cake and realized that kind of lifestyle, at least strictly, was personally not for me.

So after taking a few months off from blogging, I revamped the blog just a tiny bit. In December of 2014, I removed the “paleoish” label and kept on moving.

Still, the blog didn’t really have a direction. I posted recipes, sometimes at random, and I enjoyed doing it. Sometimes, people would ask me what my niche was and I didn’t really have an answer. I just liked food! And I wanted to share food with all of the people in Internet Land.

So basically, when other people occasionally asked me about my niche, my inner self would react like this:

Fast forward to later in 2015. Something had clicked.

I’ve always had a strong connection to Mediterranean-style cooking; Greek, especially. It wasn’t until I was having a conversation with a friend that I realized I should be focusing more on that.

So I started posting more Greek and Mediterranean food! And I’ve started diving into incorporating Middle Eastern flavors too. I still have so much more to learn about so many cuisines. And I love it.

Then, in January 2016, I got laid off from my full time job in the video game industry. I was crushed. I loved that job and I loved the company I worked for. I wasn’t sure I wanted to stay in games after that for various reasons.

Many aspects in my life during that time desperately needed a refresher of some sort. So I started with a passionate project of mine: this blog! I updated its theme, changed a couple of colors, and I even made a super tiny/barely noticeable change to the title itself.

OMGFOOD became OMGfood. And I decided to create a new, simple logo myself to reflect that change:

While it was a pretty small change in appearance, it was much more than trivial. It was the sign of a fresh start. A new life! It was exactly what I needed.

After that, 2016 was mostly, um, stressful. And those struggles made blogging a challenge at times. But I love sharing with you. And I want to thank you!

Without you, awesome readers, OMGfood would be nothing. And to celebrate the blog’s third anniversary, I want to give you a little gift! A $50 Amazon gift card.

Thanks for helping me build this little home on the internet. I’m super psyched to be celebrating OMGfood’s 3-year anniversary with you! <3

You can read more details on the giveaway and enter near the bottom of this post.

Want to take a little trip down the OMGfood memory lane? Let’s do this.

A Look at the Blog’s Photography Over Time

When I first started blogging, I knew nothing about photography and it shows when you go back to older blog posts. The first two blog posts were taken with my then-iPhone and overhead lighting in my kitchen. I had purchased a DSLR and started using it after my second or third blog post and it’s hilarious to see the progression of photos over time.

OMGfood 3-Year Anniversary Week (February 2017)

Obviously, I’m going to celebrate this anniversary with delicious cake!

Enter for a Chance to Win a $50 Amazon Gift Card! The Giveaway Ends on March 10th.

Yay, giveaway! I couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate the blog’s 3rd anniversary. You all have been awesome by continuing to be an OMGfood supporter and I wanted to give back.

Enter the giveaway by doing any (or all!) of the entry options below. Each option counts as an additional entry. When the giveaway ends, the winner will be picked at random and notified within 48 hours.

Please note that only residents in the U.S.A. and Canada are eligible. The giveaway ends on March 10th, so be sure to enter before then!

Disclaimer: This post may contain Amazon affiliate links, which means I make a small commission if you make a purchase through them. By purchasing through these links, you are helping support this site! I only recommend items I personally own and love.

Congratulations on 3 years! I love the evolution of your food photography. Not that it was bad to start with, but when compared to the more recent ones you can notice a difference. Keep up the great work and always keep learning. Oh, and a shout out to my favorite food: chicken fajitas!

Oh my gosh congratulations on the three amazing food filled years. I so enjoy your recipes so much. I love any kind of pasta or Italian food. (my waist line shows it too! ) . Thank you for all the great recipes and fun food ideas I look forward to so many more years to come!

Congratulations! It must have been hard to get let go of a job you loved so much. I know what it is like to be stressed, as I had left a job to help take care of an elderly parent. I got my real estate license, and you never knew if/when you would make a sale. It can be exhilarating and scary and definitely stressful is you are the only one paying the bills, mortgage, and car etc., and yet you can still have a good time and make out OK. I love your photos, you are really good! I learned to use a camera for taking house pictures. I tried a blog once, for fun, it lasted about two weeks, and only two posts. It takes a lot more umph than it looks! So true congrats are in order, and some “serious” celebrating!!!

Thanks so much for your kind words, Rosie. It really doesn’t seem like a lot of work until you’re actually in it! I love taking photos, but still have so much more to learn, especially with the various settings on the camera I haven’t touched yet. 🙂

I LOVE food also but unfortunately, food loves my waistline! lol. I’ve recently changed the way I’m eating and found that not only is my waistline getting smaller but my heartburn issues are also improving.

Gee, what I could buy with the prize. (Actually, I want to get a himalayan salt lamp for my oldest daughter and also one for me, but have so many other items, too, on my wish list). I love the recipes you post. I’m trying to expand what I make for my family (unfortunately, my husband often won’t even try new foods, but my middle daughter still lives at home and she and I are always up for experiencing new tastes). I do a lot of Japanese cooking, but am trying to find some basic recipes from other countries to add to my recipes. I’m also interested in finding more vegan and vegetarian recipes. My daughter and I do meatless Mondays, and sometimes go meatless on other days, but I really need some good main course meals that contain protein and enough of everything else to be satisfying.

I love Himalayan salt lamps! Thanks for the kind words. <3 I don't do enough Japanese cooking myself, but I've been trying to do more to mix it up at home. Japanese BBQ and ramen are two huge weaknesses of mine. <3

I am so excited I found this blog! I love food and I can’t wait to try some of your recipes! For the record my favorite food is probably bacon, macaroni and cheese but it has to be good mac and cheese! 🙂

All the food depicted here looks great! I was “drawn” to the Honey Sriacha Wings! Love sweet with spice. I’ll have to try that on my chicken or maybe an aoli! I would use the amazon card probably to buy food and/or dog supplies. Thanks!

Why oh why haven’t I visited this blog before?! I’m looking through the pictures and appropriately saying OMG! at every one. Thanks so much for the chance, and I’m so excited to have discovered your blog 🙂

Hi!! and thanks for the chance to win such an amazing giveaway. If I get very lucky to win, I would definitely buy some organic food for my daughter since she needs to follow a special diet due to her chronic condition.